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Arne Svenson, a visual artist, created a series of photographs, entitled “The Neighbors,” by using a telephoto lens to photograph the residents of the building across the street from him. His photos capture people at mundane and intimate moments like napping on a couch or scrubbing a floor. The neighbors, who did not know they were being photographed in their homes and did not consent to having their images displayed, sued, alleging the works violated their privacy rights....

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor usually writes for a sophisticated audience. Some of her most notable decisions have involved children, such as a custody dispute between parents in New York and Hong Kong. But her newest writings are intended for children to read. Sotomayor is working on books for young people. One is a picture book that she hopes will show “happy endings are possible” even for struggling families. “Happy Endings” The jurist has a crowded publishing schedule, according to her publisher....

Elon Musk, the mercurial leader of Tesla, is a dangerous driver. It’s not how he drives a car; it’s how he drives his car company. This week he said Tesla is running out of money, and the company stocks predictably crashed. Unfortunately for stock holders, it is not the first time Musk has smashed up their value. But his most dangerous move may be a decision not to use precision maps on self-driving Teslas....

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals doesn’t get as much love from the Supreme Court as its Ninth Circuit neighbors – and by love, we of course mean reversal – but the Denver-based appellate court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals have been on the High Court’s radar over the last week. The Supreme Court recently issued two orders related to the Tenth Circuit. First, the Court requested a brief from the Solicitor General expressing the federal government’s views in the Tarrant Regional Water District v....

Here’s some news on the Delaware River channel dispute. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has chimed in, upholding prior rulings by federal district courts in Trenton (NJ) and Wilmington (DE). The ruling opens the door to the continuation of the deepening project. The project would deepen the channel from 40 feet to 45 feet, a move that was opposed by some environmental groups, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The deepening of the channel is also opposed by the state of New Jersey....

District court’s partial remand of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security vacated Thomas v. Comm’r of the Soc. Sec. Admin., 08-4593, concerned a challenge to the district court’s order partially remanding a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security, denying plaintiff’s claim for disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. In vacating and remanding, the court held that the district court abused its discretion in its order when it remanded a single issue to the ALJ for clarification without directing the ALJ to fully develop the record prior to rendering an explanatory decision....

In US v. Ferrel, No. 09-1002, the Tenth Circuit affirmed defendant’s drug conspiracy conviction and sentence, on the grounds that 1) nothing in the record indicated that defendant would not have pleaded guilty and would have instead exercised his right to trial had the district court properly informed him of the quantity of drugs with which he was charged; 2) defendant failed to show that he would not have pleaded guilty had he correctly been informed of the statutory minimum and maximum sentence; and 3) defendant had no right to plead guilty to some elements of an offense but have a jury decide others....

Defendant’s conviction for drug related crimes is vacated in part, affirmed in part and remanded where: 1) defendant’s conspiracy conviction is vacated as a drug purchaser does not enter into a conspiracy with his supplier by reselling the drugs to his own customers, as a conspiracy requires evidence that the buyer and seller entered into an agreement to commit a crime other than the crime that consists of the sale itself; 2) defendant’s remaining convictions are affirmed as there was sufficient evidence to affirm the jury’s verdict for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and using a telephone to facilitate a drug felony; and 3) defendant’s 72-month sentence is vacated and remanded as it hinged largely on his conspiracy conviction....

Sentence of defendant convicted of theft of government property to one year and a day is affirmed as her sentence was not unreasonable where the totality of the record demonstrates that the district judge implicitly considered the impact of incarceration on defendant’s family and her medical issues in imposing a below-guidelines prison sentence. Read US v. Poetz, No. 09-2359 Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin...

Attorneys always complain when a judge cuts their fees in a case. And while they complain about it, they also try to figure out why. They’ll conjure up everything from cost-cutting to paranoid delusions: “The judge was mad because I make more money than she does.” In Clemens v. New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the judge cut $900,000 in attorney’s fees to zero. Go figure. “Astounding” and “Exorbitant” Judge Malachy Mannion didn’t leave much to guesswork in the bad-faith, uninsured motorist case....

The now infamous website Backpage.com has been shut down by federal authorities and the federal criminal indictment filed in Arizona’s district court against the site, its founders, and others has been unsealed. The allegations and details are unsettling to say the least. Despite the founders allegedly divesting in 2015, it was alleged that they still retained “significant control.” The charges include allegations of seventeen victims ranging from adults to minors. In addition to charges for knowingly facilitating prostitution, the founders are also accused of money laundering....

“Bush v. Gore on steroids." That is how Stanford Law School professor Nathaniel Persily describes what it could look like if election returns on Nov. 3 are inconclusive. Persily, of course, is referring to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that settled a recount dispute in Florida, handing the presidency to George W. Bush. Armies of lawyers flew in to Florida to wrangle over recounts, ballot design, and whether hanging chads or dimpled chads on punch-card ballots counted as votes....

US v. Szymuszkiewicz, 10-1347, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of a defendant’s motion for acquittal, in his prosecution under the Wiretap Act for intentionally intercepting his supervisor’s electronic communication. In affirming the judgment, the court held that the district court properly rejected defendant’s attack on the sufficiency of the evidence as he had both motive and opportunity. The court also held that the Wiretap Act’s definitions treat the acquisition of emails as an interception....

In an action brought by a female firefighter against a fire department and several employees alleging sex and disability discrimination, privacy violations, and state law claims, dismissal and summary judgment rulings for defendants are affirmed where: 1) requiring plaintiff to undergo performance and psychological evaluations did not violate Title VII as plaintiff did not prove sex discrimination by direct or circumstantial evidence, and thus failed to link her treatment with the fact that she is female; 2) for purposes of a hostile work environment claim, plaintiff failed to prove, objectively and subjectively, that she suffered harassment so severe and pervasive; 3) requiring plaintiff to under psychological evaluations was not in violation of the ADA as such examination or inquiry was shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity; and 4) plaintiff’s substantive due process was not violated by disclosure of her medical records where the department had a compelling interest in ensuring both the physical and mental well-being of the its force; 5) plaintiff’s procedural due process was not violated by defendant’s failure to give notice and hearing prior to her suspension, as plaintiff failed to identify any statutory provision granting her a property interest in her employment as a firefighter....

A deputy’s decision to cart an arrestee to the county jail instead of the hospital following major hand injuries was validated by the Eighth Circuit. The deputy will enjoy qualified immunity for his actions. The plaintiff sued under theories of violations of his constitutional rights. Apparently, under the circumstances, a “layman” like the officer himself would not have been obviously alerted of the serious need for prompt medical treatment. Punch Your Own Car…You’ll Feel Better The suit arises out of facts that took place in March of 2012....

Maybe you have seen Exit Through the Gift Shop, a delightful documentary about a French guy trying to make a documentary about the street art movement. There are several scenes in which police officers try to thwart the artists/hooligans’ attempts to leave their marks on buildings. The aforementioned French guy caught the interactions on tape. Cop-recording can be controversial. Most police officers don’t want bystanders to tape them while they’re working, and some cops will intimidate or arrest people who try to film them with their cellphones....

Conditional grant of writ of habeas corpus for home invasion conviction affirmed Guilmette v. Howes, 08-2256, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of defendant’s request for a conditional writ of habeas corpus from his conviction for first-degree home invasion. In affirming, the court held that, because the state supreme court’s order was unexplained and the last reasoned state court decision was on the merits, the state courts never enforced a procedural bar to defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel....

Petitioner for review the Board of Immigration Appeal’s denial of an Ethiopian citizen’s request for asylum is granted and remanded as, from the correct premise that a change of citizenship incident to a change in national boundaries is not persecution per se, it does not follow that taking away a person’s citizenship because of his religion or ethnicity is not persecution. And here, if Ethiopia denationalized the petitioner because of his Eritrean ethnicity, it did so because of hostility to Eritreans, and the analogy to the Nazi treatment of Jews is close enough to suggest that his denationalization was persecution and created a presumption that he has a well-founded fear of being persecuted should he be returned to Ethiopia....

About a week after four students were murdered at the University of Idaho, Ashley Guillard began posting videos on TikTok detailing her theory of the case — that a professor named Rebecca Scofield had conspired with a student to carry out the murders. Guillard, a tarot card reader and “internet sleuth,” posts on TikTok under an account called Ashley Solves Mysteries. She often posts videos discussing murder cases, basing her theories on her self-described psychic abilities....

Will the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturn convictions stemming from one of Chicago’s biggest mob trials? The appellate court heard arguments on Monday from attorneys representing five alleged Chicago mobsters who claim that the judge in the Operation Family Secrets trial had inappropriate contact with the jury. The defendants are asking for a new trial, reports the Associated Press. Joey “The Clown” Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello, Paul “The Indian” Schiro, and former Chicago police Officer Anthony “Twan” Doyle – were convicted in a racketeering conspiracy in 2007....